Select Local Merchants

Afford MD corals a team of licensed, certified doctors and physicians into a virtual, online cache of health professionals. The team dispenses medical information vie telephone, secure email, and live streaming video, allowing customers to consult with a doctor without going to a doctor’s office or crashing a med school graduation party. Afford MD is designed for non-urgent medical care, allowing doctors to discuss symptoms, diagnose conditions, and offer treatment options.

Amilcar "Mica" Cipili, head instructor of Gracie Jiu Jitsu Las Vegas, knows what works for self defense and when placed in a real life fight. Raised in southern Brazil, Mica was already mastering the martial arts of kung fu, capoeira, and judo until he saw a Brazilian jiu-jitsu match that changed his life. Mica became obsessed with the "gentle art," which eschews brute force for more effective strategies of balance, leverage, and debate skills to use mid-grapple. Mica soon perfected the grips, flips, and submissive holds of jiu-jitsu with help from the Machado brothers–progeny of jiu-jitsu pioneer George Gracie. With his new-found fighting savvy,
Mica earned a third-degree black belt, a mantle-busting array of over 90 champion titles, and even trained MMA greats such as UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta. At his Gracie Jiu Jitsu Las Vegas institute, Mica trains fighters of all levels in classes six days a week. In addition to Brazilan jiu-jitsu and judo for adults and kids, the training center features courses in judo, MMA, wrestling, and boxing.

Carrie Rezabek Dorr founded Pure Barre in 2001, and it has since grown its low-impact, high-intensity, ballet-inspired workouts to locations across the country. Certified Pilates instructor Carrie Bristol—who has an MA in French language and culture—operates the Ann Arbor location. Here, she welcomes students to a total-body workout that blends isometric exercise with therapeutic stretching to burn fat and build lean muscle mass. Although a soundtrack of upbeat music lends rhythm to each session, the absence of jumping, bouncing, and jack-hammering prevents damage to joints. The only equipment is a ballet barre used for stability and the meditative focus that turns a single hour into a boon for the body's health.

Dr. William Baumgartl, director of Aesthetics and Anti-Aging Care at Avèa Wellness Center, draws upon his diverse background in engineering and medicine to help his patients defy the aging process. His know-how extends to a multitude of laser technologies, as well as facial sculpting with the help of injectable fillers and medical-grade play-doh. Hormone-replacement therapy helps men and women keep a spring in their step, and massage services heal aches and pains caused by excessive springing.

In the battle against unwanted hair, the aestheticians at Wax In The City are fully equipped to eliminate wayward follicles from a variety of bodily surfaces. Hirsute patrons can select from the bountiful menu of fuzz-removal areas, including the underarms, for more confident high-fives ($20 for women, $25 for men), or the chin, for a smoother surface on which to apply a fake beard ($8 for women, $12 for men). In a private salon room, strand-strippers can banish hair fibers from the stomach ($20), sharpen sideburns ($15 for women, $25 for men), or reinstate a curvaceous shape to eyebrows ($16 for women, $20 for men). Wax In The City's aestheticians recommend 1/4 inch of growth before each hair-harvest session to ensure a proper grip on follicles and to prevent missed hairs from forming images of Elvis.